


How Bout Them Cowgirls

by CUKat23



Series: Opposites Attract [1]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Barrel Racer Octavia, Bull Ride Lincoln, Bull Rider Lexa, City Girl Clarke, Cowboy Lincoln, Cowgirl Lexa, Cowgirl Octavia, F/F, Rodeo AU, the 100 au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 13:02:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13167474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CUKat23/pseuds/CUKat23
Summary: Clarke is a pre-med student getting dragged along to Raven's newest obsession, rodeo, and the cowgirl that introduced her to it.  Lexa is a rough-around-the-edges cowgirl who makes her living traveling around the country, bull riding with her cousin Lincoln and her best friend Octavia.  Lexa thinks Clarke is a typical all-American city girl and Clarke thinks Lexa is a grumpy, rude cowgirl.  Will the two be able to find common ground between them.Or the Rodeo AU that wouldn't leave my head so I had to write.  I suck at writing summaries. Give it a chance.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Welcome to this story that was originally supposed to be a one-shot and is now almost 14k words! To be honest, I'm not sure if anyone besides me has any interest in this subject matter but I grew up in the south and around rodeo and had been pondering writing a fic based around it for quite a while. One day, this idea popped in my head and no matter how hard I tried, it would not leave until I put it on paper so here we are. I hope you enjoy this little world as much as I am enjoying it. Warning: there are some words, phrases, items, etc. in this fic that are specific to rodeo. I do my best to explain what each of them mean in a way that doesn't impede the story but if I feel like the reader will need further description, I will include a reference guide in the notes at the end of each chapter. If you are reading this and I am not giving you enough information about stuff, please feel free to tell me or ask in the comments! Anyways, enjoy!

Clarke was finishing curling her hair when a loud, incessant knock thundered through her otherwise quiet apartment.  She jumped a bit, not expecting her friend for at least another hour.

“I’m coming,” she yelled as the knocking continued.

She made it to the door and flung it open in exasperation.  Her best friend, Raven, stood on the other side, baring a thousand-watt smile.  She had on way too tight blue jeans, a black tank top that had too many rhinestones for Clarke’s taste, a pair of black cowboy boots, and a big belt buckle.  

“You look ridiculous,” Clarke deadpanned.

“I look good,” Raven corrected as she squeezed herself and the bag she carried past Clarke and into the apartment.

“Where did you even find that outfit?” Clarke asked, closing the door behind her friend.

Raven tossed her bag on the couch and began unzipping it.  “Same place I found yours,” she said.

“Mine? Raven, I’m wearing what I have on.” 

Raven looked over Clarke’s outfit thoughtfully.  The blonde was wearing a blue, silk top that showed less cleavage than Raven thought she should sport (Raven was a big advocate for “If you got it, flaunt it.”) and a simple pair of dark jeans.  Raven clicked her tongue disapprovingly.  “That just won’t do.  They’ll peg you for a Yankee straight away.  We’re trying to blend in here,” Raven said as she dug through the bag.  

“A Yankee?  Really Raven?” Clarke chuckled at her friend’s exaggeration.  

Since they had moved to Nashville, Tennessee, for college, six months ago, Raven had made it her mission to learn all about southern culture.  Three months ago, her obsession was food.  Two months ago, she decided to learn line dancing.  A month ago, she started following college football, much to Clarke’s dismay.  And now, it was rodeo and for some reason Clarke was being dragged along on one of Raven’s ridiculous adventures.

Clarke watched as Raven kept digging in the bag, look for something in particular it seemed.  “I’m not wearing whatever you pull out of that bag,” Clarke said defiantly.  

“Just trust me,” Raven said as she kept digging through the bag.  “Ah ha!” she exclaimed loudly.  She pulled out a handful of denim and then another handful of what appeared to be a plaid pattern.  “Put this on,” she said tossing it at Clarke.

Clarke caught the clothes that were flung at her head ungracefully.  She held each of the items by one end and let them unfold so she could see what they were.  “I can promise you, that there is not enough fabric here to cover me,” Clarke said with a dry chuckle.

“Oh shut up! You’re going to look great.  Go change!”  Raven demanded.

“Raven, I am not putting whatever this is on.”

“Yes, you are,” Raven said as she walked behind Clarke and started to push her towards the bedroom.  “Just humor me, please?”

“Fine,” Clarke sighed.  “But I’m going to squeeze into this and you’re going to see that these clothes do NOT fit me.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Just go put it on,” Raven said while shooing Clarke away.

Clarke rolled her eyes and went into the bedroom.  She was gone for several minutes as Raven waited impatiently, scrolling through her Facebook page.  

“What’s taking so long?” she shouted through the door at Clarke.

“Don’t rush me,” Clarke grumbled through the door. “I’m coming.”

She popped the door open and Raven spun around to look at her friend, letting out a low whistle as she laid eyes on the blonde.  “Damn Princess,” she said.  “You look hot girl.  Even I would bang you in that outfit.”

“Raven,” Clarke warned.  

“What? You look good,” Raven said innocently.

“I look ridiculous.  Almost as ridiculous as you look,” Clarke said.

“I don’t look ridiculous and you don’t look ridiculous.  Just go look at yourself.” 

Clarke walked over to the full length mirror in her bedroom and looked at her reflection.  The outfit Raven had brought her was something Clarke would never pick out for herself.  A pair of denim cut-off shorts that stopped well above mid-thigh and left very little to the imagination paired with a long sleeved, plaid, button-up shirt that was at least one size too small for Clarke’s busty frame.  

“I can’t even button the shirt up all the way,” Clarke said struggling with the button right below her breasts.

“That’s the point,” Raven said.  She turned the girl around and adjusted the white camisole she had on underneath the button-up and then adjusted the buttons, putting Clarke’s cleavage on full display.  She then reached over and rolled the sleeves of the shirt up just to Clarke’s forearms.  “Perfect,” she said as she admired the outfit.

“Perfect?” Clarke questioned.

“Please just trust me,” Raven said.  “I’ve done my research.  We’re going to fit right in.”

“At least I won’t know anyone there,” Clarke grumbled.

“That’s the spirit!  Now you’re only missing one thing.”

“What?” Clarke asked hesitantly as she followed Raven back into the living room and the brunette began digging in her bag again.  

“These,” she said as she yanked a pair of brown cowboy boots out of the bag.

“Uh, no,” Clarke said.

“Yes,” Raven insisted.  “You’re so worried about looking ridiculous.  What will look ridiculous is that outfit and not having on these cowboy boots.”

“I can’t even come up with a good argument,” Clarke said as she yanked the boots out of Raven’s hands and plopped down on the couch.  It took her and Raven both pulling on the boots to get them on Clarke’s feet but they finally succeeded.  The blonde stood up and dropped her hands, slapping them on her thighs on the way down.  “Well, is this satisfactory for you?” she asked Raven.

Raven surveyed the other woman, “Yep, I think so.  It’ll do.”

“I swear Raven,” Clarke said.

“Come on, we’re going to be late,” Raven said grabbing Clarke’s hand and pulling her towards the door of the apartment.  

Clarke barely had time to grab her keys and pull the door closed behind her before Raven was pulling her down the stairs and into the parking lot.

They had just climbed into Raven’s Jeep with Raven behind the wheel and Clarke in the passenger seat.  Raven looked over at her friend and saw her pouting towards her outfit.  “Clarke, quit pouting,” she said.  “Play your cards right and you might even meet you a nice cowboy tonight.”  Raven wagged her eyebrows suggestively.

Clarke rolled her eyes and playfully shoved her best friend.  “Just drive,” she said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introduction of Lexa, Octavia, and Lincoln

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the first chapter and the direction I'm taking Clarke and Raven! Now it's time to meet Lexa, Octavia, and Lincoln and learn about them! Just like the first chapter, there will be references in the notes at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!

Lexa groans and smacks her flattened hand several times against the door of Octavia’s horse trailer/bunk for the third time in the last two minutes. 

“Octavia, get up!” she says grumpily. “We’re going to miss sign in if you don’t come on!”

She could finally hear grumbling on the other side of the thin metal door and then what sounded like two feet hitting the thinly carpeted floor of the bunk area. The door cracked open slowly and a sleepy Octavia peered out angrily at Lexa. 

“What do you want?” she asked as if she hadn’t heard exactly what Lexa just said.

Lexa sighed and repeated herself nevertheless, “Sign in is only for the next...” she looked down at her watch, “30 minutes.” 

“That gives me another twenty minutes to sleep. It’s a two-minute walk Lexa,” she says pointing to the covered arena that sat maybe a hundred and fifty yards away from where their trucks and trailers were parked.

She started to pull the door closed while Lexa was distracted but the taller girl was too quick and caught the door, slinging it wide open and letting the bright, hot Tennessee sun into the cramped bunk area.

“Dammit Lex,” Octavia said stepping back what little she could into the bunk and trying to shield her eyes from the blazing sun.

“This is not going to be like Little Rock Octavia. You ride and make some winnings or you sleep in this cramped bunk every night this week. I’m not covering your hotel again if you don’t get entered in time,” Lexa said not overly harshly but enough so that Octavia understood that Lexa meant business. 

The short, brunette looked as though she might protest but thought better of it and sighed, “fine, at least give me five minutes to put some clothes on.” She pointed down to her outfit which consisted of a white tank top and a pair of boy shorts. 

As she pulled the door closed Lexa glared, “five minutes O, seriously.” 

The brunette checked her watch to make sure that arguing with her stubborn best friend hadn’t taken too long and was pleased to see they still had twenty five minutes before sign in ended. She leaned against the trailer and crossed one dirty cowboy boot over the other. She watched from the distance as Barrell racers and ropers tended to their horses in relative peace. She enjoyed the serenity because she knew in just a few hours the sun would be down and the crowd would be rambunctious and the bulls would be rank as ever. 

“What’s on your mind Commander?” a voice broke Lexa’s quiet thought. 

She turned to see her cousin Lincoln, a tall, broad man in a cowboy hat and tight jeans, rounding the back of Octavia’s horse trailer.

“I’ve told you not to call me that, Lincoln,” Lexa said with very little bite. 

She didn’t care for the nickname but she was glad to have worked her way in with the other riders enough to even earn a nickname. Being the only female bull rider in the circuit was tough. She and her sister Anya, had been raised by Lincoln’s father after Lexa’s parents died when she was 5. Gustus was already a single father, trying to keep his ranch afloat and keep food on the table for his son, so he worked days on the ranch and nights in a local factory. From the time they moved onto the he ranch, Lexa showed an interest in the animals and helped out wherever she could. Anya helped too but was really into team sports which left Lexa and Lincoln together most of the time. So, it seemed normal to Gustus that when young Lincoln found an interest in steer riding, Lexa would follow suit. She was young and there wasn’t a lot of size difference in the girl and Lincoln so Gustus allowed her to participate as well, much to the dismay of many of the other families in town. It wasn’t traditional to let girls into the rodeo circuit unless it was for Barrell racing. Despite everyone saying it was wrong, Lexa enjoyed it so much that when she turned 14 and was old enough to compete in her first rodeo as a bull rider, she did. Her and Lincoln both entered and took first and second place. Now, if her competing upset the tiny Oklahoma town, imagine what her actually winning did. At that moment, Lexa learned that if she really wanted to be a bull rider, it was going to be an uphill battle. She was an outcast on the rodeo scene for the first few years. The older riders would either mock her or pretend she didn’t exist. The only friend she had was Lincoln. Around the time she turned 16 some of the men on the circuit started to show interest and wanted to “teach Lexa how to be a ‘proper woman.’” She turned down many advances and developed an even tougher exterior giving the other riders even more ammunition, calling the girl a ‘dyke’ and spreading nasty rumors about her. She chose to ignore most of the attacks because Gustus had taught her about honesty and integrity from the time she was little and if she denied the claims of her being a lesbian, she would be lying to herself and to them. 

The girl had been out to her family since she was only 12 years old and for an old ranch hand, Gustus had taken it pretty well, but Lexa knew that few in her community were as accepting as him. She never lied if asked but she also didn’t make a big deal about it either. Being all “I’m here, I’m Queer, Get over it” wouldn’t serve her well in the rodeo life. 

They had picked up Octavia somewhere around Austin, Texas a couple years ago.  She had just joined their circuit as a barrel racer after competing with a different rodeo company for many years and had met up with Lincoln at an after party.  The two had a fling for a little while but eventually decided they were better friends.  Lexa and Octavia developed a friendship in the time, particularly because Octavia was the only other person she had met in the circuit who was queer.  The self-identified bisexual was much more open about her sexuality than Lexa and though she caught her fair share of shit about it, not many people picked fights with the tiny brunette.  She was small but intimidating.  Lexa wasn’t a very open person but she found it comforting to have someone that she could be completely herself with outside of her family and someone who understood some of the struggles she faced.

The group traveled all over the US pretty much as a caravan, hopping from rodeo to rodeo. There were always newcomers but the core group stayed the same. As the years went by, Lexa slowly started to earn some respect from the men on the circuit. They started to get older and slightly more mature and Lexa liked to believe that they started to figure out they weren’t going to get rid of her. The teasing now was almost always friendly and they pretty much treated her like one of the guys. Even taking her out on occasion to try to pick up girls at whatever bar was closest to the rodeo they had participated in that night. 

The nickname, Commander, came from Lexa’s commanding presence and her tough demeanor. There was a rumor on the circuit that one time, Lexa got bucked off an extremely rank bull in a practice pen and couldn’t make it to the gate. The bull was known for being aggressive towards riders and had even hooked another rider who got bucked a week before. Instead of trying to run, Lexa just stood tall and stared the bull down. Witnesses say the bull took one look into Lexa’s fierce eyes and turned and ran for the exit chute. Lexa always denied that her stare had nothing to do with that bull changing courses but admitted it was strange behavior. “Any bull can do anything, on any day,” she’d say.

Lincoln leaned on the side of the trailer next to her, “Waiting on Octavia?”

“I always am, ain’t I?” she asked rhetorically.

Lincoln hummed in response, “Have ya’ll signed in yet?”

Lexa was about to answer but the door to the bunk area busted open and Octavia came thundering out in all her glory, “Please don’t get her started Linc.”

Lexa rolled her eyes, “We’re going now. Wanna walk with us?” 

Lincoln nodded and the three made their way over to the sign in tent.  He waited patiently as Lexa and Octavia signed all the waivers, filled out forms, and paid their entry fees.  They were given their numbers and all the information they would need for the event on sheets of paper.  Once they were finished, they made their way over to the stables to check on Octavia’s horse, Apollo.

“Wonder who I’m going to draw tonight,” Lincoln wondered aloud.

“Who knows? I’d really like a shot at It’s Tricky though,” Lexa said.

“You and everyone else,” Lincoln chuckled.  “I heard he bucked a guy last week and sent him to the hospital.” 

It’s Tricky was the meanest, toughest bull on the circuit right now. No one had been able to stay on him for 8 seconds so far.  He had bucked off a total of 30 riders in competition.  Every bull rider on the circuit wanted a shot at him because if you could make the ride, not only were you for sure taking home the pot for the night but your name was definitely going down in the history books.  

“I’ve never met anyone who goes looking for pain like you damn bull riders,” Octavia said.

“We don’t go looking for pain,” Lincoln said.  “We’re looking for glory.  Ain’t that right Lexa?”

Lexa gave a short nod of agreement but remained mostly quiet per normal.  Octavia and Lincoln continued chatting as they walked.

“You think that girl from the bar will show up tonight?” Lincoln asked the smaller brunette.

“God, I hope so.  She was hot,” Octavia said perking up at the mention of the girl she flirted with for a while last night while they were out having drinks.

“Do you even remember her name?” Lexa asked.

“Sure I do,” Octavia said defensively. “Uhm….Rachel?  Reagan? No, those aren’t right.”  Octavia struggled for a bit and Lincoln and Lexa smirked at one another.

“Maybe it’s best that she doesn’t come so our friend here doesn’t make a fool of herself,” Lincoln laughed.

Octavia snapped her fingers loudly and pointed at a black bird passing overhead. “RAVEN!” she said loudly.   “Her name was definitely Raven, like the bird.”

“Two points for remembering her name at all,” Lexa said.

“Also, I need you guys to help me out with that,” Octavia said as her two friends looked at her warily. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because,” Lincoln said.  “When you start out like that, it never bodes well for us.”

“Oh shut up Linc,” Octavia scoffed.  “I promised to show her the ‘true rodeo experience’ if she came tonight.  So I just want to bring her back to the trailers and drink beer and get a little rowdy tonight after the show.  Normal stuff ya know?” Octavia said innocently.

“I don’t want to have a party at the trailers again O.  Last time Lincoln and I had to break up two different fights,” Lexa said.  “One of which was over you if you’ll remember.”

“No, no, no.  Nothing like that.  Just a few of us.  The normal group ya know?  Me, you, Linc, Roan, and Harper maybe? Just good music and dancing and throwing back some beers,” Octavia said.

“Fine,” Lexa said. “But I don’t want it getting too crazy.  Just us.”

“Promise!” Octavia said holding up her right hand.  

“I feel like there’s more,” Lincoln said suspiciously.

Lexa nodded her agreement and both looked at Octavia expectantly.

“Yeah, one more little thing.  She’s bringing her friend and it would really help me out if you could I don’t know…distract her tonight so I can spend some time with Raven?” Octavia said innocently to Lincoln.

“Oh, you want me to jump on the grenade for you?” Lincoln asked.

“Ugh, that is so misogynistic,” Octavia said and Lexa nodded her agreement with the smaller brunette.  “She could be beautiful and you’d be lucky to spend an evening entertaining her.”

“Sorry but how often does that actually happen?” Lincoln said.  

Octavia pleaded for several minutes before Lincoln finally gave in. “Okay, okay, but you owe me one,” Lincoln said.

“I owe you ten!” Octavia said excitedly and kissed Lincoln on the cheek.  

Lexa thought she saw the man blush a bit but ignored it to spare her cousin further embarrassment.  She knew that Lincoln still harbored some feelings for Octavia even though he openly admitted that they were better friends.  He had mentioned to Lexa one time that even though you realize you aren’t right for one another, doesn’t mean that feelings go away.

“Well my date tonight will be about 6 bottles of Bud Light,” Lexa said pulling the attention away from her cousin who looked at her with gratitude.  

“We could find you a date,” Octavia said suggestively.  “I saw some potential yesterday when we were coming in.  A female roping team.  One of them has to be at least bi-curious!” 

Lexa shook her head, “No thanks.  I think I’ll enjoy a quiet night with my beer.” 

They arrived at the stables where Apollo was being held and they parted ways so Octavia could groom Apollo before show time and Lexa and Lincoln could head back to their trailers to get ready.

“See ya’ll in a little bit,” Octavia said as the cousins walked away.  Both waved their acknowledgement and continued walking.  “Tonight’s going to be fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's your introduction to our cowgirls and cowboy. Next chapter, our girls finally meet. Thank you for the comments and kudos on the first chapter. I'd love to continue to hear what everyone thinks!
> 
> General idea of what Octavia's trailer looks like: https://www.dhmco.com/trailerpix/8925_201705249833.JPG  
> (Inside): http://www.heavyhaulertrailers.com/store/image.aspx?src=517_DSC01035.JPG&Size=1200
> 
> Rank: A bull that is difficult to ride is considered "rank."
> 
> Hooked: When a bull rider dismounts from or is bucked off a bull, the bull sometimes goes after the rider or the bullfighter and attempts to hook the human target with his horns. This is known as being "hooked."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our girls finally meet and it's rodeo time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is a long one and be forewarned, I went into quite a bit of detail about the rodeo because she showmanship and the excitement is one of my favorite parts and I tried really hard to get that to come across while reading. The reference list may be a little longer on this one to help everyone visualize what I'm writing about. Also, I'm posting a few chapters back to back because I won't have computer access over the weekend. Enjoy!

Raven pulled off the main road and into a road that was partially paved and partially gravel.  It led through a fenced in area with a sign that said “Fairgrounds.”  They drove about a quarter mile through the area, passing open tracts of land and some empty buildings.  In the distance they could see a large, covered arena and lots of trucks and trailers parked around.  They could see men and women handling horses, while some were setting up vendor trucks, and others were just milling about.  

“I guess this is the place,” Raven said.  She pulled into a parking space not far from the arena.  

“Did you at least get this girl’s number to make sure we’re in the right spot?” Clarke asked.

“I’m not a moron Clarke.  Of course I did,” Raven said grabbing her phone from the center console and shooting off a quick text.  Seconds later her phone beeped and she checked it.  “She’s going to come get us,” Raven said.

Clarke nodded and shifted uncomfortably in her seat, trying to straighten up the too small shirt. 

“Stop fidgeting,” Raven said as she checked her reflection in the mirror.

“Easy for you to say,” Clarke scoffed. “Your clothes look much more comfortable than mine.”

“Trust me, they’re not,” Raven said. “I’m just not a baby about it.”

Clarke rolled her eyes and checked her own reflection in the mirror, making sure that Raven having the windows down hadn’t messed up her curled hair too much.  Everything seemed to be in place and Clarke flipped her mirror up right as a girl with long dark hair, tucked in under a white cowboy hat walked up to the Jeep.  She nudged Raven who looked around her mirror, saw the girl, and smiled wildly.

“Damn, I’m going to get into those Wranglers tonight or die,” Raven whispered to Clarke.

“You’re vulgar Rae,” Clarke said right as the girl approached the driver’s side of the Jeep.

“Hey there,” she drawled slowly as she crossed both arms on the window seal of Raven’s Jeep.  “Long time, no see.”

“Hey there cowgirl,” Raven flirted back.  “Nice hat.”

Octavia smirked and nodded towards Clarke, “who’s your friend?”

“Oh! This is my best friend Clarke,” Raven said indicating the blonde in her passenger seat.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Octavia smiled kindly as she reached across Raven to shake Clarke’s hand.  

Clarke shook the girl’s hand, “Likewise.”

Octavia stood there a moment and smiled flirtingly at Raven before speaking, “Well get on out.  I’ll show you around before things get to crazy.” 

“Too crazy?” Clarke asked.  “You think there will be a lot of people here tonight?” 

“Always is,” Octavia shrugged.  “Around 3,000 people or so probably.”

“Wow, rodeo is bigger than I thought,” Raven said. “I read it was dying out.”

“Nah, rodeo is still alive and well.  It’s the true cowboys and cowgirls of the world that are dying out.  Last of a dying breed is what they say,” Octavia said with a chuckle.

Raven and Clarke followed as Octavia showed them around to vendor tents, the arena, and up to the stables where Apollo was at.  She watched on as Raven and Clarke both admired the gelding’s shiny, black and white coat and long, black mane.  

“He’s a paint,” Octavia said as Clarke pointed out an almost heart shaped pattern on his hind quarters.

“He paints!?” Raven said whipping around to look at Octavia, clearly mishearing the girl.

“No,” Octavia laughed out loud.  “He IS a paint, an American Paint Horse.  It’s what gives him his colors.” 

“He’s beautiful,” Clarke said looking into eyes almost as blue as her own and rubbing the soft nose of the horse.  He extended his lips playfully and tried to grab at Clarke’s hand with them.

“Careful, he bites,” a deep voice said from behind them, startling both Clarke and Raven.  Clarke instantly pulled her hand away from the horse’s lips.  She thought he even looked sad for a moment.  When they turned around, Lincoln was standing in a very similar outfit to Octavia.  Blue button-up shirt, brown cowboy boots, a big belt buckle, and a dirty, white cowboy hat.  The only difference were that his Wrangler jeans fit much looser than Octavia’s, border lining on being a bit baggy on the tall man.  

“Shut up Lincoln,” Octavia said playfully.  “He’s just messing with ya’ll.  Apollo’s never bitten anyone in his life.  This big, fool on the other hand,” she said signaling towards the muscled man.

“I’m Lincoln,” he said extending his hand to the two girls.  “Octavia says this is your first rodeo.  Where are you from?”

“I’m from New York originally but I lived in Los Angeles for about 5 years before coming here.  That’s where I met Clarke,” Raven said as she shook hands with the tanned cowboy.

“Hollywood girls,” Lincoln said with a flirtatious smile.

“Hardly,” Clarke smiled back at the man’s teasing tone.  

“Well, what brings you to our little rodeo in Nashville?” Lincoln asked holding his hands out to indicate the area around him.

“Well, I met Octavia here at the bar last night and she invited us out to see what a real-life rodeo is like,” Raven said.

“Quite a long way from Los Angeles to flirt with O here,” Lincoln teased as Octavia glared at him.

“We’re students at Vanderbilt University,” Clarke corrected as she went back to petting the horse who had been nudging her arm with its big nose. 

“Impressive,” Lincoln said genuinely.  “Okay, well it was nice to meet you lovely ladies but I gotta go get ready.  O, opening ceremonies starts in forty-five minutes,” Lincoln told the girl who nodded.

He walked off and left the three girls standing in the horse stall.  Clarke looked around and noticed that it was starting to get much busier.  People were moving around the stables, handling horses, putting reins and halters on them, and checking them over before the event.

“I better get you guys to your seats,” Octavia said.  She lead the two women out of the stables and down the hill to the arena.  She talked briefly to the woman at the ticket gate, who seemed to know the brunette, before being handed two tickets.  She turned around and placed two small tickets into Raven’s hand.  “Okay, you guys go find a seat.  Opening ceremony is in about thirty minutes and then barrel racing is the second event tonight.  As soon as I run and then cool down Apollo, I’ll come sit with you.  Sound good?” she asked hopefully.

“Sounds great,” Raven flirted.  “Good luck cowgirl.” Raven winked at the brunette, who smiled broadly before turning on her heel and walking away.

Raven watched the girl walk away appreciatively.  “I think Wrangler jeans may be my favorite invention ever.”

Clarke laughed at her friend and then grabbed her arm, gently pulling her towards the door of the arena, “Come on lover girl.”

The two girls were early enough that even though the arena had started to fill with spectators, they still had their pick of just about any seat they wanted.  They chose a seat near the center of the arena, just high enough where they could see everything. The seats were hard, metal bleachers and Clarke’s legs burned a little from the heat outside as she sat on them.

Most of the arena was taken up by the huge oval of dirt in the middle. Easily the length of a football field and probably twice the width, the dirt area was surrounded by hundreds of panels of metal fencing that stood about 6 foot high. Each panel of fencing was made up of two bars on the sides and one in the center running vertical and then five long bars running horizontal.  The space between each of the bars was enough that a small child could easily slide through, making it easy to see into the arena through the panels. 

On one end of the arena there were 8 stalls sitting side by side with large, hinged panels on them. Each door sporting a sign for a different sponsor for the event. The stalls were split into groups of four on either side of a larger opening blocked off with another hinged gate. From what Clarke could tell, that opening seemed to run all the way out of the arena.

The other end was mostly closed off except for two small breaks in the fence that went back a bit farther and then were closed off, creating two large pockets. Between them was another tiny, gated fence.

Clarke and Raven watched as men, women, and children of all ages began flooding into the arena, talking loudly and trying to find seats. An older man in overalls and a gray haired woman sat beside them and smiled kindly. 

Music had started to play through the loud speakers above them but Clarke and Raven didn’t recognize any of the songs that were playing. The music was truly country with lots of acoustic guitars and fiddles playing behind the vocalist. Clarke tried to keep up as the male vocalist sang about a young man having a fiddling contest with the devil in Georgia but quickly got lost.

The arena was packed full before they knew it and they were surrounded by men in baseball hats or cowboy hats, women in shorts and tall cowboy boots, and young boys and girls dressed as bull riders and barrel racers, standing and chattering excitedly on the fence panels as they waited for the show to start. 

The crowd was loud and rambunctious and by now they could barely hear the music over all the noise. Finally, a booming, male voice came across the loud speakers and the crowd settled.

“Welcome, rodeo fans, to the greatest show on dirt!” He said and the crowd went crazy. Stomping their feet, yelling, clapping, and whistling.

“I’m Garrett Hedeman and tonight we’re here for you to see some of the best cowboys and cowgirls from around the nation compete against one another and take on some of the rankest broncs and bulls this side of the Mason-Dixon Line!”

The crowd applauded again. As soon as they started to calm down he spoke again, “now what I love about coming here to Nashville, TN is, ya’ll know what to do when a song like this starts to play.”

The opening beat to “We Will Rock You” by Queen started to play and the bleachers began to shake from people starting to stomp their feet and clap to the rhythm. Raven smiled widely as she joined in, getting caught up in the excitement.

The music faded out and the booming voice came back, “now where I’m from in Texas, we have rhythm and know what to do when this comes on, what about y’all?”

The opening beat to Cotton Eyed Joe came thundering through the speakers and the crowd yelled excitedly and immediately picked up the beat with the stomping of their feet.

“Alright, alright,” the announcer said as the music started to fade out. “That’s the energy we gotta keep going all night long.”

The crowd started to clap and yell.

“Now guys and gals, I’d like to ask you to hold your applause for just a moment, just for a moment.” The crowd instantly quieted down. “If you have ever served in the Armed Forces for the United States of America, I’d like you to stand up right now.”

He waited as men and women around the arena began to stand up including the older gentleman who was sitting next to Clarke. A thundering applause broke out through the arena once again. A woman on a horse then came running into the arena with a large American flag held by her side. The flag waved as the horse made one large lap around the arena. 

“I’d like to thank you for your service to the greatest country in the world. If you feel the same way, I’d like you to stand up and cheer with them,” the announcer said as everyone in the arena stood to their feet and clapped and cheered even louder.

“The men and women who stood before you protected our country and our constitution,” the announcer said as the girl on horseback came to a stop in the middle of the arena. 

“Protected our freedoms, the freedom of speech, the freedom to gather here as a group, and most importantly the freedom of religion,” he paused for affect. “Now I’d like to ask you all to remain standing and remove your hats for a prayer and the playing of our National Anthem.”

There was movement as anyone wearing a hat removed their hats and bowed their heads. A man’s voice came across and said a prayer, “Our Gracious and Heavenly Father, We pause in the midst of this festive occasion, mindful and thoughtful of the guidance that you have given us. We would ask today, Lord, that you be with us in this rodeo arena as we pray you will be also with us in life's arena. As cowboys, Lord, we don't ask for any special favors in this arena today. We only ask that you will let us compete in this event, and in life, as You did for us. We don't ask that we never break a barrier, draw the steer that won't lay, draw around a chute fighting horse, or a bull that is impossible to ride. Help us to compete in life as honest as the horse we ride; in a manner as clean and pure as the wind that blows across this Texas country; so when we make that Last Ride, that we know is inevitable, to the Country Up There, Where the grass is green and lush and stirrup-high and the water runs clean and clear; You will tell us, as our Last Judge, that our entry fee's are paid. We ask these things in Christ's Name. Amen.”

A scattered chorus of “Amen” broke out around them and most people placed a hand over their heart as a woman’s voice came through the loud speaker singing the first notes of the National Anthem of the United States of America. The crowd was silent as the woman sang the entire song beautifully.

As she entered the last couple lines of the song, the girl on horseback took off at a run around the arena with the flag waving behind her. She made two large laps before running straight out of the arena gate between the 8 stalls at the end of the arena.

The applause thundered through the arena as the song came to an end.

“Let’s keep that applause going as I introduce you to the cowboys and cowgirls who will be competing here tonight!” The announcer yelled over the applause. “Welcome the riders of the ARA Rodeo Company!” he yelled as an entire line of men and women on horseback entered the arena following the woman with the flag who had run out earlier. The line of people on horseback seemed to go on forever as they made one lap around the arena and back out. They were finally able to spot Octavia and Lincoln near the end, riding three wide with a thin woman with a serious expression and long dark hair riding between them. Raven yelled for Octavia and waved excitedly. The brunette smiled and winked before nudging the brunette riding next to her. She looked over and looked at Raven and then made eye contact with Clarke. She held the eye contact for just a moment and then looked back at Octavia, rolled her eyes and brought her horse to a faster step, separating herself from the other two. Clarke scoffed and looked over towards Raven who seemed to have missed the whole interaction as she watched Octavia finish her ride around the arena.

As she watched the last of the people on horseback exit the arena, she noticed there were several men in cowboy hats standing along the tops of the gated stalls. There were also four, large horses impatiently stomping inside the first four stalls. 

“Are y’all ready for some rodeo!?” the announcer questioned excitedly.

The crowd roared in equal excitement.

“That’s what I’m talking about! First thing you’re going to see tonight is some of the rankest horses you’ve ever seen and the cowboys that ride them! The rules of bareback bronc riding are simple folks. One hand has to stay off the horse for the entire time and they have to stay on for 8 seconds as that horse does everything in his power to get them off his back.”

Raven and Clarke watch excitedly as the Bronc riding continued. Each man would climb on a horse, get tied in, and then the gate would swing open and the horse would buck out hard. Kicking their feet high and hard and trying to get the rider off their back. Some riders lasted for 8 seconds and some didn’t but there were not too many dramatic moments during the event. Once it was over, Clarke could still feel her heart beating hard in her chest. Despite, there not being many close calls in the event, the part of her training to be a doctor was on edge the entire time. 

“Next up, I’d like to introduce you all to some of the finest cowgirls around.” the man said as Clarke and Raven watched three sets of men roll big metal barrels into the arena. They sat two of them near the edges of the arena directly across from one another.  The third was sat up by itself at the opposite end of the arena, directly across from the entrance, creating a very large triangle.

The announcer explained that each rider would come in and run a pattern around the barrels as fast as they could. The fastest was the nights winner. 

The audience watched and cheered as rider after rider entered the arena at full speed and ran the pattern as fast as they could. Some riders struggled to get their horses to do what they wanted and one girl wasn’t even able to get her horse to run the pattern at all.

Finally about 12 women in, Clarke and Raven heard a name they recognized.

“Oh, we have a treat for you next,” the announcer said. “This next rider is one of our veterans. She’s been on the circuit since she was 14 years old! Straight out of my hometown of Austin, Texas, three time National Finalist Rodeo Barrel Racing Champion, it’s Ms. Octavia Blake and her horse Apollo!”

The crowd went wild and so did Raven as Octavia and Apollo entered the arena at full speed. It was a thing of beauty to watch. They made it to the first barrel in no time and turned around it quick and tight, throwing up dirt as they did so. They darted straight across to the second barrel where Apollo turned a little too tight and tapped the barrel. Everyone, including Clarke and Raven, watched in shock as Octavia immediately noticed and yanked her foot out of the stirrup and pulled the barrel up right without ever slowing down. The crowd went crazy when they saw this and Octavia and Apollo raced to the last barrel. They turned it sharply and then took off as fast as they could go on the final sprint. Octavia was standing in the stirrups and encouraging Apollo to go faster as they passed the timer line and ran straight out of the arena. 

The crowd was going crazy as the announcer spoke, “Wow ladies and gentleman! Now that was a barrel run! Official time is 14.85 seconds! We have a new first place holder! That’s why she’s a three time national champion folks!”

Everyone was going wild including Raven and Clarke who had gotten caught up in the excitement. 

The rest of the barrel racers rode and no one was able to top Octavia’s score, the next closest coming in at 15.42 seconds. The announcer started to explain the rules of calf roping as the men rolled the barrels back out of the arena but Clarke and Raven were distracted by someone yelling their name. They looked down to see Octavia smiling brightly and waving them down. They stood up and excused themselves past everyone sitting on the same row and made their way down to the floor where Octavia was.

“Come on, I want to show you something,” Octavia said as they walked up to her.

It took them a bit to get out of the arena with everyone stopping to congratulate Octavia on her ride but they finally made it out into the night air where it was significantly more quiet. 

“That was amazing!” Raven said once they stopped walking. 

“It really was impressive,” Clarke agreed.

Octavia waved them off, “Apollo was feeling it tonight.”

“What did you want to show us?” Raven asked.

“Oh yeah, come on,” Octavia said walking to the opposite end of the arena with the girls following. 

The walked through a door large enough for a small truck to drive through and were all the sudden surrounded by cowboys standing around talking.

Clarke looked around quietly and soon realized where they were.

“We’re behind those end stalls where the broncs were earlier,” she said to Raven.

Octavia chuckled, “those stalls are called bucking chutes or chutes for short. And this is the prep area for bronc and bull riders. I figured it’d be cool for you guys to see some of the behind the scenes stuff.”

Raven nodded excitedly and while she tried not to show it on the outside, Clarke was starting to find all this quite interesting.

They followed Octavia over to where Lincoln was standing and talking to the long haired girl that they had seen earlier during the opening ceremony.  She was wearing blue jeans and a long sleeve shirt that was rolled up above her elbows clinging tightly to toned biceps. Her long, dark hair was braided tightly and tucked neatly under a black cowboy hat on her head. She was tying a long, thick rope with a handle on it, to the panel of fencing beside them and nodding to whatever Lincoln was saying. 

The three walked up and Lincoln noticed them first, smiling widely. “Bronx and Hollywood,” he said teasingly.

The brunette he was talking to turned, hearing the man addressing someone new and made eye contact again with Clarke. At this distance, Clarke could see her forest green eyes and her defined features better. The woman was nothing short of beautiful and Clarke felt herself go slack jawed for half a second.

“Lexa, this is Raven and her friend Clarke. Ya’ll this is Lexa,” Octavia introduced. Raven started to extend her hand for a shake but Lexa didn’t seemed interested and looked back towards Octavia coolly.

“What are they doing back here?” Lexa asked the girl.

“Being impressed with your southern hospitality clearly,” Octavia said sarcastically.

Lexa rolled her eyes and turned back around, tending to her rope again. 

“Ignore her,” Octavia said. “She was raised by wolves.”

Lincoln laughed at Octavia’s joke and Clarke could have sworn she even saw Lexa smirk a bit. 

“Is there a restroom nearby?” Clarke asked. 

“Sure it’s just out that door and around the corner,” Octavia said pointing.

“Want me to go with you?” Raven asked but her face clearly indicated she wanted to stay.

“No, I’m good,” Clarke said. She walked off and left the group standing there.

She wasn’t gone long but it was apparently enough time for most of the group to disappear. Much to her dismay, when she got back the only person still there was Lexa who was sitting on a bucket, messing with something metal in her hands. Clarke walked up to her shyly and stood there for a second unnoticed. Finally, when it seemed like Lexa wasn’t going to look up, she cleared her throat loudly and spoke, “Do you know where they went?”

Lexa looked up for a second and surveyed Clarke before going back to what was in her hands, “Your friend wanted to see the bulls so Octavia took her. Not sure about Lincoln.”

“Great,” Clarke said sarcastically and shifted her weight between her two feet. “I figured they would at least wait to abandon me until after the rodeo.”

Lexa sighed, “They’ll be back soon. Octavia is always on the chutes for mine and Lincoln’s rides.” 

“Oh,” Clarke said.  She watched as the woman continued to work on the metal objects in her hands.  It was quiet between them for several minutes.  “So, what do you do?” Clarke asked breaking the silence.

“What do you mean?” Lexa asked looking up at Clarke from under the brim of her black cowboy hat.

“At the rodeo,” Clarke clarified.  “I know Octavia does barrel racing and Lincoln rides bulls.  What do you do?”

Lexa looked mildly offended, “I’m hanging in the prep area with the bull riders and I’m getting ready.  What do you think I do?”

The girl’s bite threw Clarke on her heels, “Oh sorry, I didn’t know.”

Lexa shook her head, “It’s fine.”

Clarke was confused as to why the girl didn’t like her so despite her better judgement, she continued trying to make conversation.  “I’m still learning about all this.  This is my first rodeo.  I didn’t even know what to wear,” she said.

Lexa chuckled a bit and looked the girl up and down, “No offense, but did you base your outfit on a Google image search of ‘rodeo girl?’”

Clarke looked down at her outfit and sighed, “Raven made me wear it.  I told her I would look ridiculous.”

Lexa realized that the girl looked self-conscious and instantly felt bad.  Her expression softened a bit.  “Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.  You don’t look ridiculous.  You just look…” Lexa paused.

“I look what? You can say it,” Clarke encouraged the girl.

 “Well, you’re not familiar with rodeo so you’re not going to know what this means but you kind of look like a ‘Buckle Bunny,’” Lexa said.

“What’s a Buckle Bunny?” Clarke asked the girl.

Lexa cleared her throat, “Well a Buckle Bunny is a girl who hangs around rodeos trying to hook up with cowboys.  They chase buckles…Buckle Bunny.”  
“So I look like a rodeo slut,” Clarke said with a chuckle.

Lexa laughed at Clarke’s joke, “Just stereotypical.”  Lexa found herself smiling up at the blue eyed girl and getting caught up in her gaze.  She shook her head and went back to what she was doing.

Clarke felt more relaxed, finally seeing that the girl apparently had at least a little bit of a sense of humor. “What are you working on?” Clarke asked.

Lexa held up the shiny, metal object for the blonde to see, “I bent one of my spurs last week at the practice pen.  Just trying to get it straightened out.”

Clarke hummed and inspected the object, “Those go on your boots right?”

“Yeah, it helps us hold on tighter and encourages the bulls to buck harder. Got it!” she said when she finally accomplished bending the piece back.

“Doesn’t that hurt the bulls?” Clarke asked quietly.

Lexa reached back and attached the spur to her boot, pulling the leather band across the top and buckling it in.  She looked up at the girl and noticed her sad expression.  “No, it doesn’t hurt ‘em.  They have thicker skin than us.  That’s why the spurs spin, so they don’t really dig in too hard,” Lexa said while taking a finger and flicking the spur, sending it spinning in a circle quickly.

Lexa looked at her watch and stood from the bucket she was sitting on and started digging through her bag, throwing out a heavy pile of leather over one of the bars of the fencing and then pulling out a crimson red shirt.  Clarke tried to avoid staring as the woman carefully unbutton the plaid button up she had on and revealed a tight, white tank top underneath. As she turned around to stuff the plaid shirt into her duffle bag, Clarke noticed a beautiful tribal-like tattoo on her left bicep.  The artist in her gawked at the intricate patterns and shading details.

“That’s beautiful,” Clark said nodding her head towards the tattoo.

Lexa looked to where Clarke’s eyes were glued, “Oh, thank you.”

“Does it have a meaning or was it something you just found cool?” Clarke asked.

Lexa looked at her for a moment gauging whether or not the girl was being genuine or teasing her.  She quickly decided on genuine, “It’s a traditional Creek tattoo,” Lexa said.  “Lincoln and I’s grandmother was 100% Creek Indian.”

“Oh, Lincoln is your brother?” Clarke asked in surprise.

“Cousin,” Lexa corrected.  She made no more effort to extend on her family history and pulled the red shirt up her arms and began focusing on buttoning it.

“Am I annoying you with all of my questions?” Clarke asked suddenly.

Lexa’s eyes shot up and she had to stop herself from smiling at the blonde’s bluntness.  She always had a thing for girl’s who said what was on their mind.  “Do I seem like you’re annoying me?”

“You’re a little short,” Clarke said in a matter of fact tone.  “I wasn’t sure if I was irritating you or if that’s just how you are.”

Once again this girl had Lexa back on her heels.  She admired Clarke’s honesty and smiled from underneath her cowboy hat.  This Yankee girl seemed to have more spunk in her little finger than some of the southern girls she’d met, had in their whole body.  “I’m just not used to having someone asking me questions about this stuff.  It’s usually just me, Lincoln, and O,” Lexa said with a shrug.

Clarke nodded as if she understood, “Do you want me to leave you alone?”

Lexa thought on it for a moment.  She would normally be quite annoyed if someone was messing with her pre-riding rituals and she was trying very hard to be annoyed with Clarke but for some reason, she didn’t mind the blonde or her questions.  “Nah, you can stay.  It’s kind of nice being around someone who this is all new too.  I don’t really socialize outside of the rodeo circuit so I kind of forget what it’s like learning about of this for the first time.”

Clarke smiled brightly, “Okay, I’ll probably ask a ton more questions.” She was happy with herself for finally getting Lexa to seemingly warm up to her a bit.

“Ask away,” Lexa said as she picked up the pile of leather she had tossed onto the fence earlier.  She unfolded it carefully and revealed a pair of well worn, black chaps with shiny, red tassels.  Clarke noticed that the very bottom of each chap had a large, cursive A and a W sewed into it in the same red as the tassels. 

“AW?” Clarke asked.

“Alexandra Woods,” Lexa said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  “I couldn’t put LW or Lincoln would be wearing them every time he misplaced his,” she laughed.

Clarke laughed with the girl and watched her buckle the chaps around her narrow hips.  She then watched in slow motion as Lexa turned and put one leg up on a low bar of the fence and bent over to buckle the leg straps of the chaps.  The position gave Clarke a glorious view of Lexa’s butt in her Wrangler jeans.  Clarke tried very hard not to stare but found her eyes glued for a good minute and a half as Lexa worked on the leg buckles expertly. Lexa began to turn around and Clarke quickly snapped her eyes to the ground.

Lexa tugged at her shirt a little, adjusting it so it wasn’t tucked into her chaps quite so tightly and then slapped the leather of her chaps.  She then checked her watch to see how much longer she had before the bull riding started.  Less than fifteen minutes as long as everything was on schedule.  She looked to Clarke who was staring at the dirt awfully hard.  “Octavia and your friend should be back soon.  It’s almost ride time.”

Clarke nodded her understanding and looked up at Lexa.  She looked like something straight out of a Western magazine.  Her eyes worked from the bottom, up and landed on a soft smirk, shadowed by the black hat.  That was the very moment that Clarke decided that this girl was the most attractive person she had ever seen in real life.  She stood confidently with her hands on her hips and all of her clothes fitting just right, despite most of them probably being made for a man’s build. 

Clarke jumped when Lincoln walked up behind her and spoke to Lexa, “It’s almost go time Lex. You ready?” he asked.  He was wearing an outfit almost identical to Lexa’s but wherever Lexa’s was red, Lincoln’s was blue.  “I just went and checked the boards.  You ride fourth tonight and I’m all the way at eleventh.”

“Okay, then I’m going to go ahead and finish up getting ready.  They should be starting the event soon,” Lexa said.  She reached back down into her bag and pulled out a black leather, padded vest and a black and red glove.  She pulled the vest over her shirt but left it unzipped and threw the glove at Lincoln.  As if a choreographed routine, Lincoln walked over to Lexa and helped her pull the glove onto her left hand and then pulled a roll of tape out of her bag and taped it around the wrist.  Clarke watched as Lexa pulled a small cloth satchel out of the duffel bag and pulled a shiny amber colored, rock out of the bag.  She put it in her gloved hand, crushed it, and closed her hand, making a tight fist.  She then turned around and grabbed the handle of the rope she had been tying to the fence earlier.  She began rubbing up and down the handle of the rope slowly at first and then speeding up. 

“What is she doing?” Clarke asked Lincoln who was standing beside her watching as well.

“She’s prepping her bull rope,” Lincoln said.  “What she got out of her bag was rosin.  When it gets hot, it gets super sticky.  We rub it on the handle of the rope and our gloves and it helps us hold on better.”

“That’s not against the rules?” Clarke asked.

“Well it’s not super glue,” Lincoln laughed.  “It doesn’t permanently attach us to the rope.  Just gives us a little bit better grip.”

All the sudden, the atmosphere around Clarke changed as the rodeo announcer asked the crowd if they were ready for bull riding.  The crowd was going crazy and the contestants who had been getting ready quietly around her were now buzzing with energy.  Some were stretching, some were doing the same as Lexa and prepping their ropes, and one was even bouncing back and forth on his toes in the corner as if he was preparing for a run. 

About that time, Octavia and Raven reappeared from wherever they were.  Both had stupid grins on their face and Clarke thought that Raven’s hair looked a bit too out of place just to be getting a tour of the arena. 

Raven smiled innocently as Clarke glared at her, “Thanks for abandoning me.”

“Oh don’t be dramatic,” Raven said. “You weren’t alone.” She indicated towards Lexa and Lincoln who were now talking amongst themselves. 

Clarke rolled her eyes but any argument was stopped by Octavia who all of the sudden was guiding them around the chutes and to a small cubby hole on the side.  From there they could look through the fence and see inside the arena perfectly but also still see a little bit of the prep area.  “I’ll come get you guys after Lincoln rides,” Octavia said winking at Raven.  “Then the fun begins.”

Raven smiled coyly at Octavia as she walked off before realized that Clarke was still glaring at her. “What?” she asked innocently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well our girls have met, Octavia kicked ass in her barrel run and next up, Lexa is going to ride her bull!!! Please let me know what you think and if I should keep going with this one :)
> 
> References: 
> 
> General idea of what the arena looks like: http://d2w7gersd1ix5b.cloudfront.net/images.ashx?t=ig&rid=CityOfGonzales&i=imag1015.jpg '  
> http://www.wildwestpromotions.com//wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Main-Arena-4.jpg
> 
> https://rodeomart.s3.amazonaws.com/v/vspfiles/photos/Custom-Pro-Rodeo-Chaps-A-1.jpg  
> (Lexa’s chaps)
> 
> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2273734/Hello-cowgirl-Meet-Maggie-Parker-Americas-ONLY-professional-female-bullrider.html  
> (Article on Maggie Parker for visualization of female bull rider)
> 
> http://cdn3.volusion.com/lgoex.xuddt/v/vspfiles/photos/2020-custom-rodeo-vest-3.jpg?1464920516  
> (Lexa's Vest but red where it is blue in the pic)
> 
> https://cdn3.volusion.com/v7qcb.7mza6/v/vspfiles/photos/088014-2.jpg?1318873411  
> (Bull Riding Spurs)
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNVdo1zoe2o  
> (This is a rodeo opening ceremony. Look into some of these, they're so awesome)
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTLSvNcssXQ  
> (This is barrel racing)
> 
> If I think of more or you guys need more, tell me and I'll add them!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since the last post! I've got a lot of active fics right now and having trouble wrapping my brain around just one at a time so there's a lot of bouncing around going on. That being said, I have part of the next chapter of this written and in the next couple chapters, it will be wrapping up seeing as this was originally intended to be a one shot! If you guys enjoy it, I could consider a sequel in the future :) i have honestly been so surprised at the interest people had shown in this story. I was afraid I was the only one who would find this remotely interesting! anyways, enough rambling! Enjoy!
> 
> As always, references below!

It was almost ride time and Lexa’s adrenaline was starting to pump.  She had just watched as the first rider out got thrown from his bull in under three seconds.  Only two riders left before her.  Lincoln reached over and zipped her vest for her and then checked to make sure the shoulders were tight.  They had been doing this for each other since they were little kids, meaning there were no words exchanged.  They completely trusted one another.

The second rider was loading onto his bull now so Lexa made her way to her chute and stepped up on the metal step that ran along the back of it.  Lincoln stood on one side of her and Octavia on the other side, holding her rope.  She exchanged a quick glance with Octavia who gently smacked the brim of her hat playfully to make sure it was on tight.  They heard the crowd explode in a cheer as the second chute opened and the bull and rider shot out.  This rider made it the full 8 seconds and the crowd went crazy.  All three watched for his score to pop up on the electronic screen.  Finally his score, 80.20, appeared in bright red letters.  The crowd booed a bit, obviously not happy with the score the judges had given the rider.

The rider next to Lexa was dropping into the chute for his ride so Lexa climbed up to the top bar and sat on it, propping her legs up on the bar directly across from her.  She looked down to the big brindle colored bull in the chute below her.  He snorted and shifted his weight impatiently causing him to hit his big, white horns on the metal bars. His name was Mudslinger and was a pretty consistently high scoring bull.  If she could ride him, there was a good chance of her winning tonight and securing her place in the short go tomorrow.

Lexa watched as the rider in the chute next to her nodded and the gate swung open, the bull lunging forward and throwing the rider off almost immediately.  Knowing it was her turn next, Lexa began her pre-ride routine.  She stretched her arms and legs one last time and then fist bumped Lincoln.  As she stood up and stepped down further into the chute, straddling the bull, she could hear the announcer start to talk about her.

“Our next rider is a special treat for you guys, the only female rider, not only in our circuit but also the only female rider currently competing at this level.  This cowgirl was last year’s runner up for National Bull Rider of the Year and is in a very good position to win this year, as she is sitting at the top of our leader board in points for the season.  Straight out of Cushing, Oklahoma, 24 years old, Lexa Woods!”  The crowd went crazy and almost every little girl in the audience was on their feet. 

Lincoln dropped Lexa’s rope in and Octavia expertly used the hook to pull it through the loop on the other end, effectively securing it to the bull.  Lincoln held the rope straight up and Lexa ran her hand up and down it several times to reheat the rosin.  Once she was happy with the level of stickiness, she finally sat down on the dusty bull.  The bull huffed and shifted beneath her.  She felt two strong hands on the back of her vest and realized that Octavia had moved around to spot her just in case.  She was ready to pull Lexa out of there at the slightest sign that the bull was going to let loose before the door to the chute swung open.  Lexa placed her hand inside the handle and signaled for Lincoln to begin tightening the rope.  He pulled it hard, up and up until it was tight around the bull’s midsection and then put it in Lexa’s right hand.  She laid the rope into her open palm, closed her hand, wrapped the rope around the back of her hand and then laid it back into her open palm again.  She closed her hand tight around the rope and then used her right hand to hit her knuckles a couple times to make sure it was really secure.  She pulled on the rope to make sure it was in place and secure and got very little movement.  Her heart was pounding and there was already sweat rolling down from underneath her cowboy hat.  This was her favorite part.  The adrenaline that was coursing through her body was an absolute high.  She put her right hand on the door of the chute and used the top bar to pull herself up to the point where she was nearly sitting on her hand, her wrist touching the crotch of her pants.  She pulled her feet in closer to the bull.  It was time.  She nodded her head and yelled “Let’s go boys!” The latch cracked and the two men on the other side swung the gate open hard.

 

Clarke and Raven watched as Lexa got into the chute and prepared herself.  They watched Lincoln pulling her rope and Octavia holding on tightly to her vest.  Clarke’s heart was racing as she saw Lexa nod her head and the door to the chute swung open.  The huge bull dove out hard and Lexa went right with him, one hand over her head in perfect form.  The bull jumped up in the air and Lexa leaned forward nearly touching his head with her hand, her face dangerously close to the small hump at his shoulders.  When he landed and kicked his back feet up, she laid back towards his butt with her right hand out straight to the side.  The bull then turned to his right and started bucking hard in a circle, over and over.  Lexa found her rhythm and leaned into the bull, riding through each buck and jump.  She spurred him with her left foot each time he landed.  Clarke held her breath for what seemed like forever as the girl spun round and round on top of the bull.  Finally, the buzzer for the 8 seconds went off and Clarke watched Lexa reach down with her right hand, pull the tail of the rope up, and then swing her legs over the bull landing gracefully on her feet in the dirt.  The bull facing the other way, chased the rodeo clown, seemingly angry that he had been ridden.  Lexa yanked her hat off her head and threw it in the air, smiling brightly.  Clarke held her breath when she noticed that the brunette was looking directly at her.  The crowd was going absolutely crazy and everyone was on their feet as a score of 94.35 appeared on the leaderboard and the announcer yelled that Lexa had moved into first place in the event. 

“What a ride from the young cowgirl!” Garrett exclaimed over the cheers.

The rest of the rides went on after that with three more men riding their bulls but none scoring higher than Lexa.  When Lincoln was up, his ride went very similar to Lexa’s.  Lexa and Octavia were once again on the chute with him but because of Lincoln’s size, another male bull rider spotted him instead of Octavia while Lexa pulled his rope.  Once the chute opened, he rode his bull for 8 seconds with no issue at all scoring a 93.48 and taking second place behind Lexa.

The other riders rode and no one ended up being able to top the cousin’s scores for the night.  About 20 minutes after Lincoln’s ride, all three rounded the corner with huge smiles on their faces.  Lexa and Lincoln both had their large duffel bags thrown over their shoulders and Octavia walked between them, talking excitedly. 

“You ladies ready to party rodeo style?” Octavia asked, suddenly directing her attention towards the two girls standing along the fence.

“I told you we’re not having a party O,” Lexa corrected.

“Whatever, you guys ready to have a calm and small but equally fun get together?” Octavia said rolling her eyes.  “It doesn’t roll off the tongue nearly as well Lex.”

Raven and Clarke laughed at their antics and followed them away from the arena and towards where all of the trucks and trailers were parked.  They were led to a large white camper with gray writing on it.  There were fold out chairs, fold out tables, a large umbrella, coolers, and other camping materials sitting around the outside of the trailer neatly forming a relaxing area. 

“I’m going to go shower,” Lexa said as soon as they arrived at camp.  She opened the door to the camper and climbed inside, tossing her bag onto the floor with a thud.  Clarke watched her go inside, already stripping her shirt off before the door even closed all the way.

Octavia opened a cooler standing nearby and pulled out four cold beers.  She handed one to Raven, one to Clarke, one to Lincoln, and kept one for herself.  She then plopped down onto a blanket that was spread out on the ground and patted it, encouraging Raven to sit next to her.  Raven did as she was asked and sat down next to Octavia, flirting with the girl as she did so. 

Clarke sat down in one of three fold out chairs directly across from them, holding her beer in her lap while Lincoln turned the radio on and the soft sounds of country music filled the air around them.

 

They had all gotten comfortable and were listening to Raven recount how impressive Octavia’s barrel run had been when Lexa returned from her shower.  She looked more relaxed in her normal Wrangler jeans, cowboy boots, a black t-shirt, and her trusty black cowboy hat. 

“What are we talking about?” she asked as she plopped down in the chair next to Clarke and accepted the beer bottle that Lincoln offered her.

“What an incredible barrel racer your friend is,” Raven said to Lexa.

Lexa rolled her eyes, “You’re only making her head bigger than it already is by saying stuff like that.” Lexa took a long swig of her beer and ignored the glare Octavia sent her way.

“You were quite impressive too, wasn’t she Clarke?” Raven asked the blonde who nearly spit out her beer at her friend’s blatant attempt at flirting for Clarke.  She knew she should have never told Raven she found Lexa attractive. 

Lexa’s head swiveled and her green eyes landed on Clarke expectantly.

“Uhm…yeah,” Clarke said shyly.  “I don’t know how you do it though. I was terrified for you.”

Lexa shrugged casually, “There’s no fear anymore, just adrenaline and respect for the bulls.”

 

As the night went on, the beers started flowing more freely and a couple more people showed up.  Another bull rider named Roan had come with his girlfriend, Ontari and her friend Harper who was shamelessly flirting with Lincoln.  The music had gotten a little bit louder and people had really started to couple up, leaving Clarke and Lexa sitting alone near the radio.  The conversation had been awkward at first but now, several beers in, both were feeling the nerves start to slip away and there was definite flirting going on.  Lexa wasn’t sure if it was just Clarke being a flirty drunk straight girl though so she still treaded carefully.

It was getting later and later and at some point, Octavia had decided to teach Raven and Octavia how to line dance which eventually shifted into slow dancing.

Before they knew it, Lexa and Clarke had been dancing and talking for six straight songs.  They looked around and noticed that they were the only ones left standing.  Octavia and Raven had disappeared together two songs ago, Roan, Ontari, and Harper had headed back to their camper a while back, and Lincoln was snoring softly in a chair with his cowboy hat over his face.

Clarke had her head resting on Lexa’s shoulder as they swayed back and forth slowly.

“I haven’t slow danced since my high school Prom,” Clarke chuckled.

Lexa laughed softly with her, “I didn’t go to Prom.”

“Why?” Clarke said lifting her head and looking into green eyes.

“My school wouldn’t allow me to go with who I wanted to, so I signed up to ride in a local fair that day and took first place,” Lexa said with a soft smile on her face.

“Who did you want to go with?” Clarke asked.

Lexa’s smile faded and she grew serious before clearing her throat. “Someone of the wrong gender,” she said using air quotes around the word “wrong.”

Clarke nodded knowingly, “I guess that’s the difference in growing up in California and growing up in Oklahoma.  I went to Prom with a girl and no one said a word.”

“Yeah, but was it your best friend and ya’ll just went together instead of having to go alone?” Lexa asked in a more mocking tone than she intended.

“No, she was my girlfriend,” Clarke said seriously.

“Really?” Lexa asked.  “I’ve heard that experimenting sexually is more accepted out West.”

Clarke was growing angry at Lexa’s assumption that she was just another straight girl experimenting in high school.  Hadn’t she given off vibes that she was interested in Lexa all night?  “I wasn’t experimenting,” Clarke said shortly.

The bite in her tone startled Lexa and she pulled away a bit, bringing their slow dancing to a stop.

“Niylah was my girlfriend.  We dated for 2 years and the only reason we broke up is because I moved to Tennessee for school and she joined the Peace Corps,” Clarke said angrily.  “Bisexuality is a thing.”

Lexa put her hands in the air as a sign of surrender, “I’m sorry.  I just assumed you were straight.”

“I’ve been flirting with you all night!” Clarke said in exasperation.

“I thought you were just messing with me or that was just your personality,” Lexa said shyly.  “It’s happened before.  Some girls just wanting to try being with a girl to see how it is.  There aren’t many people like me in this lifestyle”

Clarke could see the sadness and loneliness in Lexa’s eyes.  She felt a little bit bad about snapping at the girl despite Lexa probably deserving it for assuming the worst of her.  She reached her hand up and put her palm on Lexa’s cheek, cupping it softly.  “Let’s start over,” she said.  “I’m Clarke, I’m bisexual, for sure, no experiments needed.  And I think you’re a very complicated but sexy cowgirl that I would like to learn more about.”

Lexa smiled shyly at the blonde but didn’t speak at first.

“Your turn,” Clarke urged her.

Lexa rolled her eyes, finding this a little ridiculous but spoke anyways, “I’m Lexa, I’m a lesbian that maybe carries a bit of a chip on her shoulder. And I think you’re very beautiful and interesting even for a Yankee.”

Lexa smirked playfully from under her hat and Clarke smacked her on the arm lightly. 

At some point, they had begun swaying to the music again perfectly in rhythm to the slow, quiet song that was playing across the radio.  They kept stealing short glances at one another and flirty smiles.

“I thought only bad guys wore black hats,” Clarke said reaching up and pulling on Lexa’s cowboy a hat a little.

Lexa smirked, “Maybe I am a bad guy.”

“You’re not a guy at all,” Clarke said with a wink. “But I don’t think you’re bad either.”

“What makes you so sure?” Lexa husked.

“I can just tell,” Clarke plucked the hat off of Lexa’s head and put it on her own which drew a heavy laugh out of Lexa.  “What?” Clarke asked in confusion.

“Nothing,” Lexa said but continued to laugh.

“Oh come on, what are you laughing about?” Clarke said slowly walking Lexa backwards towards the side of the camper.

When Lexa’s back met the camper and Clarke’s body was pressed against hers her laughter died down a bit.  She shook her head, still smiling hard at the joke inside her own head.

“You better tell me,” Clarke threatened, pushing her body tighter to Lexa’s.

“Okay, you asked for it,” Lexa said.  She flicked her cowboy hat that was sitting loosely on Clarke’s head, “There’s a silly old cowboy tradition that if a girl takes your hat and wears it, she owes you her panties.”

Clarke’s eyes got big and her face looked shocked before a dangerous smirk crossed her face.  “Is that so?” she asked stepping more into Lexa’s personal space.

Lexa gulped at the blonde’s proximity now.  She could smell the slight scent of beer on Clarke’s breath and feel the heat radiating off of her body.  “That’s just what the saying is,” Lexa said.

“Hmmm…” Clarke hummed and pushed a stray piece of hair behind Lexa’s ear.  She looked into Lexa’s eyes and got lost in the depth of them.  She wasn’t sure if she was intoxicated off of the beer or Lexa at this point but whichever it was, encouraged her to grab the sides of Lexa’s tank top and pull her into a fiery kiss.

The moments their lips touched, a fire lit in Lexa’s belly and fireworks went off behind her eyes.  She felt Clarke asking for entrance with her tongue and willingly gave it, moaning quietly at the taste of Clarke.  Clarke rewarded Lexa’s moan with one of her own and pushed her body in even closer, their bodies melding together.

They stood against the camper and kissed for a long time, hands had begun to roam and their moans and whimpers were getting more frequent and louder. 

“Is there anywhere we can go?” Clarke whispered, breaking the kiss much to Lexa’s dismay.

Lexa’s brain was short circuiting from the kiss but she managed to put together a few words, “The camper.”

“What about Lincoln?” Clarke whispered.

“He’s out for the night. He won’t budge from that spot until morning,” Lexa assured.

Clarke nodded and kissed Lexa again, letting her body be lead to the door of the camper.  Lexa fumbled with the handle awkwardly, trying not to break the kiss.  She managed to get the door open and the two worked their way up the stairs, Lexa pulling the door shut behind them while Clarke worked on Lexa’s belt.  Once they had made it up the stairs without injury, Lexa pinned Clarke to the counter of the small kitchen.  She took the black cowboy hat off of Clarke’s head and placed it on the counter carefully and went to work on the buttons of Clarke’s shirt.  It took longer than it should have because she kept getting distracted by the feeling of Clarke’s lips on her neck.  Once she finally accomplished removing Clarke’s shirt, she paused to look at the blonde, standing there in a simple black bra that did wonders for her cleavage.  Her cheeks were flush and she wore the most obscene smirk that Lexa had ever seen in her life. 

“See something you like?” Clarke husked.

Lexa simply nodded and dove back in, attaching her lips to Clarke’s neck and following a path down her chest before working her way back up the other side.  She had just reached Clarke’s left ear lobe when the girl moaned loudly and grabbed the back of Lexa’s neck, holding her in place.

“Take me to bed,” she whispered into the brunette’s ear, her lips brushing against Lexa’s ear as she did so.

Lexa needed no more direction than that.  She reached down and wrapped her hands around Clarke’s thighs and picked the girl up in one smooth motion. 

Clarke gasped from the show of strength but reacted quickly, locking her legs around Lexa’s hips and her arms around the back of her neck.  She let herself be carried towards the back of the camper and through a narrow doorway before Lexa laid her down carefully on the bed.  Lexa was hovering over her now, her strong arms holding her body off of Clarke’s for the most part. 

“Are you sure?” Lexa asked softly.  She had been turned away at this point before and she wanted to make sure this was really what Clarke wanted and it wasn’t just the alcohol.

Clarke grabbed Lexa’s face and gently kissed her lips.  “I’m sure,” she said.  Her blue eyes were sure and serious for a moment and then that smirk from earlier was right back.  “Now, show me that you can ride for more than eight seconds, cowgirl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed that one! Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up for you soon! Let me know what you think!!!
> 
> References:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLHoHkRZxqA  
> (This video details Chute Procedure and is a visual of Lexa preparing for her ride)
> 
> https://youtu.be/GLHoHkRZxqA  
> (This video is a visual of a rider "taking a wrap" in the chute. i.e. how they tie the rope on)
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YimISUuwcco  
> (Here is a collection of the best bull rides from 2017 just to give you an idea of a successful ride)
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPnlJevvuko  
> (This one is a short one but it's a good representation of when I talk about Octavia being Lexa's spotter and holding onto her vest. Notice in the video that the guy never lets go of his vest and is ready to pull him out of the chute if something happens and the bull gets too rowdy)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, my beautiful readers, this is the last chapter in this one. Enjoy and see the end notes for more ;)

Lexa woke up the next morning warmer than usual.  She cracked her eyes open and was met with a head of blonde hair and a set of nude shoulders in front of her.  She smiled warmly as memories of last night began to replay themselves in her head:  memories of hours of her and Clarke worshipping each other’s bodies and of them talking quietly as they cuddled late into the night.  She wanted nothing more than to reach over and pull Clarke close but was afraid the girl would either regret their night together or maybe she just wanted a one-night thing, no cuddling in the morning.  She decided to roll over and try to get a few more minutes sleep before the day began. She hadn’t been laying there ten minutes, however, when she felt the bed shift and felt a lithe arm sneak around her midsection.  She smiled and flipped over to face the other woman.

Clarke was even more breathtaking in the morning.  Her blonde hair was messy, but beautifully framed her face and her blue eyes shone bright despite still being heavy with sleep.

“Good morning,” Clarke said with a sleepy smile.

“Mornin’,” Lexa drawled slowly.

“I love your accent,” Clarke complimented the brunette who blushed softly. 

“You okay?” Clarke asked, grabbing Lexa’s hand and pulling her closer. “You can touch me.  You didn’t have a problem with it last night.”

Lexa smiled shyly and cleared her throat, “I just didn’t know if you wanted the rules of last night to extend to this morning.”

“I didn’t know there were any rules last night,” Clarke said.  “But to ease your concerns, I’m very okay with this right now,” she said indicating the position they were currently in.

“And later? Once we’re out of this bed and back in the real world?” Lexa asked.

“I don’t know,” Clarke admitted.  “But I do know that I would like to spend more time with you and get to know you more with clothes on.”

Lexa smiled at Clarke’s joke, “But I do enjoy you with clothes off.” She pulled the blonde close and kissed her gently.  The kiss was sweet and soft and different from the heated kisses they had shared the night before.

Clarke’s stomach rumbling interrupted the moment and they both laughed.  “I just realized that I haven’t eaten anything since before we came to the rodeo last night.”

“Well, why didn’t you say anything last night?” Lexa asked.

“I had other things on my mind,” Clarke said biting her lip.

“Okay, let’s get some food in you, darling,” Lexa said, making a move to sit up in the bed but Clarke was too fast.  The blonde grabbed her arm and pulled her back down in bed.

“In a minute,” Clarke smiled, kissing the brunette on the lips.

A text from Raven interrupted their particularly intense make out session and Clarke groaned loudly.

“Ignore it,” Lexa encouraged.

Clarke laughed, “I would love to but she would come kicking down your door.”

“How would she even know you’re here? She abandoned you last night,” Lexa said while kissing Clarke’s shoulders.

“Despite how it may seem, Raven is a really great friend.  She texted three times last night to make sure she didn’t need to come back so we could head back to the apartment.  I told her you were taking care of me,” Clarke shrugged.

She opened the text message from Raven and showed it to Lexa.

**Rae Rae: Do you and Rodeo Stud want to go get pancakes with us?**

“Rodeo Stud?” Lexa asked in confusion.

“Just roll with it,” Clarke laughed.  “Everyone gets a nickname with Raven and the first draft isn’t always the best one.”

“Clearly,” Lexa chuckled.

**Princess:  Sure, when are you going?**

**Rae Rae: Octavia says to tell Rodeo Stud to meet us at the truck in an hour.**

**Princess:  She says okay but to tell you that you’ve got to work on a better nickname.**

**Rae Rae: *thinking emoji* I’ll think on it**

Clarke put her phone down and rolled back onto her side to face Lexa and continue the kiss from earlier.

Lexa stopped her and sighed, “As much as I would love to continue, if we have to meet them in an hour, we better start getting ready.  I’ve got to shower first.”

Clarke groaned at the interruption, “Fine.”

Lexa smiled, giving one last chaste kiss to the girl and then hopped out of bed.  Clarke admired her toned body fondly as she started digging in the tiny closet near the bed.  She watched appreciatively as Lexa’s tight, back muscles flexed when she reached towards the top of the closet and pulled out a pair of blue jeans. 

Lexa had turned around and laid her clothes on the edge of the bed before realizing she was being watched.  “See something you like?” She asked as she put her underwear on first and then pulled her Wrangler jeans up onto her hips, leaving the button undone while she put her bra on.

“So much,” Clarke smirked.  “But, uh, I was actually thinking that I have nothing to wear unless I do a walk of shame in my ridiculous outfit from last night.”

“Oh, yeah.  I didn’t think about that,” Lexa said, finishing adjusting her bra and pulling a button up shirt onto her strong shoulders.  “Is your apartment far from here?”

“I live near campus at Vanderbilt.  About thirty minutes away,” Clarke said with a frown.

“Hmm…well, I have some stuff you could wear if you don’t mind wearing a stranger’s clothes,” Lexa shrugged.

“I hardly think we’re strangers anymore Woods,” Clarke said as she rose to her knees in the center of the bed and began crawling towards the brunette who was in the process of buttoning her shirt.  Clarke placed her hands on Lexa’s tight abs, effectively halting her motion.

Lexa smiled at the girl’s flirting, “I guess I could agree with that.  I feel like I know every inch of you pretty well.”  She smirked and placed a hot kiss on Clarke’s neck but then pulled away too quickly for Clarke’s liking, drawing a groan out of the blonde.  She turned to dig in her closet again and pulled out a pair of black sweat pants that she wore when she wanted to relax and a t-shirt that she had been given when she won a rodeo in South Carolina last year. 

“It’s not anything fancy but I’m sure you look beautiful in anything you put on,” Lexa said shyly, placing the clothes on the bed next to Clarke.

“How do you do that?”  Clarke had moved to the edge of the bed and started to pull the sweat pants onto her pale legs.   They were a bit too long for her but they were comfortable.

“Do what?” Lexa asked looking confused.

“Go from being super sexy and cocky to being sweet and caring and a perfect gentlewoman so quickly,” Clarke stated, adjusting her bra and then pulling the t-shirt over her head.

“Gentlewoman? Lexa laughed.

“You know what I mean,” Clarke said, playfully slapping the brunette on the shoulder.

“I don’t know.  I’m just me,” Lexa said with a shrug. 

“Complexity wrapped in mystery,” Clarke mused.

“Yes ma’am, I guess so,” Lexa laughed.

“Ma’am?”

“Sorry, it’s a habit. Respect and manners have always been a big deal in my family.  It was drilled into my head at a very young age.  Funny story,” Lexa said.  She smiled warmly and had a bit of a far-off look in her eyes.  “When Lincoln was just a little boy and started showing interest in girls, my Uncle Gus told him that there was one thing he needed to remember: ‘That no son of his would ever treat a lady wrong or show them anything less than the respect they deserve.’  And he meant it.  One time, Lincoln got in trouble at school for pushing a little girl that he liked and Uncle Gus made him write the girl a letter apologizing and then walk her to every one of her classes, carrying her books for a month.”

Clarke smiled.  She thought she really wanted to meet Uncle Gus and could name a few men in her life that could stand to meet him as well.

“Anyways, when I decided I was going to come out to him, I was really nervous.  We’re from a small town and it’s super conservative as you’d imagine.  I had already packed a bag just in case I needed to go quickly.  So, I sat down at the kitchen table across from Uncle Gus and I just spilled the beans right there. I just said, ‘Uncle Gus, I’m gay.  I like girls and I don’t want to date boys and I really hope you can understand that and still love me but if you can’t, I understand that too.’  You know what he did?”

Clarke shook her head.

“He sat there in complete silence for a full two minutes, I counted, and then he said that he had to tell me two things that I needed to remember.  He said one was that he would always love me like a daughter no matter what and the other was that ‘No daughter of his would ever treat a lady wrong or show them anything less than the respect they deserve.’”

Clarke and Lexa both laughed out loud at the story.  “Your Uncle sounds like a good man,” Clarke said.

“He is a great man,” Lexa agreed. 

“I’ve got to be honest though,” Clarke teased.  “You were kind of a jerk to me when we first met.”

Lexa cringed and conceded, “No one’s perfect ya know?  Don’t tell my Uncle Gus.”

“Oh, I’m going to tell him,” Clarke teased. “And he’s going to set you straight.”

“You’re laughing but he will make me come carry your books to class every day for a month,” Lexa laughed.  She checked her phone and saw a text from Octavia saying that they were ready to go.  “Come on, Octavia and Raven are ready to eat.”

Clarke hopped off the bed and followed Lexa through the small kitchen, where the brunette grabbed her cowboy hat and placed it atop her head.  They opened the door and walked down the steps right as Lincoln was waking up.

“Morning Lex,” he said through a yawn as he stretched out in his lawn chair.  “Ma’am,” he quickly added tipping his head towards Clarke.

“Morning.  We’re going to get breakfast with O and Raven.  Wanna come?” Lexa asked politely.

“Nah, I think I’m going to get a shower and nurse this hangover before the show tonight,” the man said rubbing the back of his bald head.  “Bring me some eggs though?”

“Sure.  See you in a little while,” Lexa said. 

The two women set off towards the area where Lexa’s truck was parked, near the stables.  As they walked, the two would occasionally bump hands and smile at one another.  They weren’t far from the truck when Lexa stopped and turned towards Clarke, stopping the girl and looking her in the eyes.  She pulled her hat off and held it in one hand while she held the shorter girl’s hand in the other.

“Hey, Clarke.  I just wanted to say, in all seriousness, that I’m sorry that I was an ass to you when we first met.”

“Lexa, it’s okay,” Clarke assured.

“No, it’s not.  I have a habit of being shut off and cautious about new people and I unfairly judged you.  I thought you were just another straight, city girl, looking for a good time or to make a joke out of what I love but I know now that you’re so much more than that.  I should’ve taken the time to get to know you before I put that label on you.  I know now that you’re a smart, funny, beautiful lady and even though we’ve done everything backwards, what with sleeping together last night, I would love the opportunity to take you on a date some time.”

Clarke smiled and took Lexa’s hat out of her hands and placed it                 back on top of the girl’s head.  She gently grabbed either side of her face and pulled her in close, planting a soft kiss on Lexa’s full lips.  “You are forgiven for being an ass and I would love to go on a date with you Lexa.”

Lexa’s smile was the biggest Clarke had seen it since they met and she welcomed another kiss from the girl.  They started walking again and Clarke smiled at herself.  She would have find a way to really thank Raven and her love of all things southern for this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think lovelies? I'll admit that this ending snuck up on even me, but I've always said that the story writes itself. This was always meant to be a one shot and turned into so much more. This fic holds a special place in my heart, therefore, I can definitely seeing myself writing more in this universe if you would like to read that. Maybe make this a series? I've got an idea for how to add some angst to this puppy in the future so let me know if you'd be down for that. Or maybe you have some ideas for one shots in this universe? Whatever you want to tell me, please do in the comments or hit me up on tumblr @lexaneverleft.
> 
> Thank you so much for your support and I hope we can meet again in another story in this universe. Thank you and May We Meet Again <3

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Let me know what you think!
> 
> Reference Guide:
> 
> General idea of what Clarke's outfit looks like (change the colors to fit the story)- http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0CG04au6f-M/U16bgAp5XXI/AAAAAAAAABQ/eC-T5mRtksk/s1600/seductive-Cow-girl-potrait
> 
> General idea of what Raven's outfit looks like (change the colors to fit the story)- http://madeinatlantis.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/cowgirl-image2.jpg


End file.
